The sun sets in the West
by Flailchicken
Summary: There's a million things in life that you should do or shouldn't do. One thing you definitely shouldn't do, is fall in love with one of your friends. Of course, that warning comes way too late when the damage is already done... A KagaKise fanfic (though with appearances of MidoTaka and slight Aokuro) M-rated in later chapters
1. CH1: Realization

" _I think, no..  
I know…  
I've fallen in love with Kagami Taiga…"_

 _ **Realization**_ _,_  
coming to understand something clearly and distinctly;  
realization, recognition, discernment, savvy, understanding, apprehension.  
The cognitive condition of someone who understands;

 _ **Veritaphobia**_ _,_  
fear of knowing, telling and revealing the truth.

 _ **Fear**_ _,_  
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc.,  
whether the threat is real or imagined;  
The feeling or condition of being afraid;  
A specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: a fear of heights;  
Concern;  
solicitude: a fear for someone's safety;  
Reverential awe;  
Something that causes fright or apprehension;

It's almost unreal how one single realization can invoke so much fear, stress and anxiety in a person, basically just a whole bunch of things you don't want to be related to a feeling like love, however they're rarely not related to the feeling. Love is always described as this amazing thing, however most of the time that is nothing more but a lie. Being in love is probably the shittiest feeling yet, because if it's a friend you've fallen for, it feels as if you have betrayed them by falling for them. The fear that this might ruin it all, unsure if your feelings are one-sided, it's basically mental torture until either of you end it and open the book you'd rather bury deeper than your future grave.

The worst has to be though, that the moment you confess, neither path is pain-free. If they say 'yes', you will most likely worry whether it's really not one-sided, or if your bad traits don't overshadow your good traits. Are they just having a bad day or did you do something wrong? And of course in the worst case you'll get crazy jealous over everyone that gets to be near them. However, if they say no, you'll have to force yourself to get over those feelings. You'll have to deal with this empty and nauseating feeling every time you meet up with them, and it makes you wonder if it wouldn't be better to just stop seeing them for a while, but that'd only make that fear of your feelings ruining a great friendship come closer to becoming the truth.

Long story short;  
You fall in love with your friend, you're mentally fucked for as long as it lasts.

* * *

Their meeting was nothing short of surprising. Plus rude, yeah.. that's where Kagami is to blame. Kise can still recall the way his hand stung after stopping that ball from hitting him straight in the face, that redhead better be happy his reflexes aren't something to frown at or he'd have sued his ass, probably. The blond had agreed to join him for basketball a bit, but it wasn't much of a game with Kise immediately putting down a statement that let Kagami know he was way out of his league. To the copycat, this guy was nothing but a loud-mouthed brat thinking he could just do whatever he wants, toss around words like 'going to beat the Generation of Miracles'. It'd have been a lot more interesting if, back then, he actually had the skill to do just that, but he didn't.

In the end though, the memory of their first meeting faded from something so negative and him looking down on Kagami, to the complete opposite. He had had the guts to challenge him at the time, even though he knew Kise was most likely stronger, or so he assumed but this was Kagami he was talking about. Maybe he was just being rude after all. But what keeps ghosting through the blond his mind isn't all that, none of that, rather it's two little words the redhead has uttered that were meant to challenge him, but now they only got his mind to turn into one big mess.

"Pretty boy."

Of course he understood it wasn't meant as a compliment, but he could dream, right? If only that had been their last meeting, his mind would've never started remembering every single thing the other had once said to him, taking it as compliments or getting flustered over it. No, this guy had nearly forced himself into Kise's heart, to a point where it had come to this.

The blond sat at the edge of his bed, one hand buried in his hair and locking it between his fingers as his other hand held onto his cellphone, thumb hovering over the 'ok' button as he read the message over and over, a glance at the recipient; 'Kagamicchi'. He couldn't breathe, could swear his heart hadn't been beating for the past five minutes. In the end, his nerves won the mental battle and with a loud click of his tongue and a firm frown on his face, Kise pressed the 'cancel' button to the point where you'd expect it to ram itself right through the device any minute. This was all so unfair, of all people it had to be Kagami! Had it been anyone else this would have been at least a little less nerve wrecking, if this would end up bad he'd not be able to just distance himself from the other. Matches together was only a little part of the problem, the fact he and Kuroko were together more often than not would make it difficult to meet up with his old teammate without this awkward ambiance between all of them.

The phone was tossed onto his pillow, Kise soon letting himself fall back onto the bed with a sigh. "No way in hell am I telling him." Not now, maybe not ever, he'd take this whole thing to his grave if he'd have too. Day by day he noticed this feeling getting stronger, and day by day he tried to figure out when it all started to head into this fucked up direction, why Kagami was different from anyone else to make him feel this way.

A loud, high-pitched ring came from the cellphone he had been holding not too long ago. He reached for it and unlocked it, checking the text message he got and feeling his eyes widen ever so slightly. Once more his breath got stuck in his throat, heart skipping a beat before racing a mile a minute, eyes going over the few words over and over as a warm smile found its way onto his lips, softening his once so worried expression. This had to be one of those things that made Kagami different, that made him this special to Kise in more ways than one.

' _You okay? Usually you're bombarding me with how your day went by now.'_

Kagami was the one who, even though he often complained about the amount of texts, would listen to the blond telling him about his day, all the ups and downs and actually exchanging the good and bad of his day as well. No matter what it was, Kagami would listen to him and if he was bothered by something the redhead was always able to cheer him up or calm him down soon enough. "It's unfair, Kagamicchi. You're basically perfect. If only I could say that." He had tried a few times, maybe even more than that, but in the end he always changed his mind and cancelled the message. Rolling onto his stomach and reading the message once more, Kise got to typing a reply to make sure the other knew he was alright.

' _I'm fine, Kagamicchi! You're just impatient for my stories~_ _(_ _ω_ _)_ _'_

It wasn't that long until he got a reply again, and thus ensued their daily exchange of texts, Kise wishing this was something that'd never come to an end, even more so a reason to not risk ruining this closeness and comfort.

' _As if! I'm just not used to my phone not having over a hundred messages when I get home.'_

' _Hmmm, what if I just had classes 'till late? (^_ _・_ _ω_ _・_ _^ )'_

' _You barely have any classes Tuesday, also do you have to send those with every message?'_

So it had come to this point, he wondered if Kagami knew his schedule by head now based on when he starts sending texts. Kise himself had actually never paid much mind as to whether the redhead was still in class or not when he would start spamming his phone, had he actually ever got Kagami in trouble for that?

' _Nawww, I know you love them~_ _*_ _･゜ﾟ･_ _*(^O^)/*_ _･゜ﾟ･_ _*_ _'_

'…'

' _So, your day?'  
_

* * *

"You're so mean!"

After he went through all the trouble, which was quite exaggerated, to come and see Kuroko and whoever would be his other team members, all he got in return was this? Not that he really expected all that much as this was Kuroko after all, but even so, him denying they were 'the best of friends' in middle school somehow still hurt to hear, if only just a little. Of course he was being a bit over the top though. The blond brought his right arm up and wiped across his eyes with the sleeve of his uniform, whether he was really crying or not was something for him to know and others.. not. Though he was sure the blue haired boy could see right through him when it came to his emotions.

He could hear one of the other guys recite a paragraph of the article from the monthly basketball magazine, feeling a bit flattered by how he was described in said article. Of course the fact that he didn't start basketball until his second year of middle school came as nothing less but a surprise to the others, and as much as he likes to brag every now and then, this time he felt as if they were thinking a little too highly of him. "That article exaggerated quite a bit." He spoke with a slight stumble at the first word, impulsively running a hand through the blond locks at the back of his head as he continued. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch." Did he really believe that? He sure did, but as negative as it sounds to be the 'worst of the bunch', it only means there's more room for improvement, right?

"They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time." Recalling the times he was being scolded for simple mistakes, surely a lot of them were more than embarrassing. Like the time were he had control over the ball for too long and forgot to pass it elsewhere, not only did Akashi point him at how he was doing compared to the rest, even Kuroko seemed to be mad at him for not passing the ball, not to mention Aomine calling him an idiot… not that it wasn't a stupid mistake though. "That never happened to me." Was the response he got to this, of course no expression visible on the shorter male's face as he just kept his eyes locked on Kise as if to make his expressionless face even worse. "What? It was just me?" Somewhat upsetting, but it was true that Kuroko, even though his average score was always the lowest, never got called out for that because he was 'different' or 'special'. Kise would admit at some times it annoyed him how he was the only one getting scolded and had no one to share any of the blame with him. Though luckily for him he could turn that into motivation and determination to get better and not make the same mistakes next time, after all dwelling on the past was never much of his thing.

And then something caught his attention. An orange blur from the corner of his eye, coming closer at a rapid speed and without even thinking for a second, reflexes took over and lifted his arm to stop whatever was coming at him. The feeling of the ball colliding with his hand, it was something far from comfortable, and might just be the reason why he had never attempted to catch one of Kuroko's high-speed passes in game. "Ow! What was that for?" Whoever threw that, he wouldn't be on good terms with them now, for sure. A red mop of hair, two different tones of red even, eye color matching his hair. His skin was a lot more tanned than anyone else's in this gym, especially compared to his own or Kuroko's. The number '11' stood out as well, not to mention the expression on the guy's face was nothing short to irritating him right now. Kise, being as curious as he is, was about to ask for a name he could link to the image before him. However, the other team members spared him the trouble of doing so as they proceeded to yell at the redhead, whose name was apparently Kagami, he'd find out the full name sooner or later.

Holding the ball in his right hand, the blond was waiting for some kind of explanation of why he had a ball flying at him at full speed, not a thing he could appreciate or consider a compliment. "Sorry for interrupting your little reunion." Oh he'd better be sorry, there's nothing more rude than to throw a basketball at someone in the middle of conversation. Or, at least in this situation nothing was more rude.

"Don't tell me you came all the way here just to greet us. Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?"

Was this guy serious? Either they hadn't enlightened him on the Generation of Miracles yet, or he was just a little too confident in himself thinking he could just challenge one of them like this. Sure, Kise wasn't the strongest out of them all, but he sure wasn't someone to be considered weak compared to the others. "What? I don't know if I'm ready." Of course he was playing with him now, someone like this wasn't much of a challenge to be ready for anyway. A kid with his head way too high up in the clouds, probably not someone he'd have to put much effort in to shut him up. "But, I just…" He was pretending to be thinking about it, considering to take up on the redhead's challenge though his mind was made up the moment that (rude) guy had stopped talking. "Fine, let's do it. I have to thank you for that display~" How many minutes should he consider this to take? Two, possibly three? Definitely nothing beyond that, it shouldn't even take more than two minutes to show this kid he had challenged someone way out of his league.

Their first meeting wasn't one he'd describe as 'nice'.  
So then why did it all turn out this way?

* * *

A practice match, it was nothing more than a warm up for the real challenges to come during the Inter-High, yet he was so excited it was nearly creeping him out. Every now and then the blond managed to get some shut-eye, but it wouldn't last long and rarely turned into a few minutes of sleep. It was times like these he was happy he knew his way with make-up to cover up the bags he would surely have by the time he'd have to get ready for school.

Another turn, feeling his back at the edge of the bed as he was now on his right side, looking at the wall his bed was placed against. The amount of moving was ridiculous, especially considering this was a king sized bed he was laying on. Usually he'd wake up in the same exact spot where he had fallen asleep, but now he was here, there and everywhere, even finding himself partially hanging over the edge of the bed. The pillows had already found their way onto the floor, and no doubt the sheets would soon follow the way they were shoved aside once every half hour or so. Was he really this excited over some little practice match? Of course he wanted to play a match with Kuroko, see if the team could use his type of playing efficiently. But at the same time he was curious as to how far that rude guy, Kagami, from before could go before he'd admit defeat. Curiosity had never driven him to a point of insomnia, not until now. Somehow, it almost seemed like a bad omen of some kind. "Ah geesh, just fall asleep already!" The model whined loudly, though if it only was that simple.

Soon enough the sun had shown its face, rays of light peeking through the blinds. It was at this moment Kise realized just how much sleep he had gotten, which was closer to 'none' rather than 'a little bit'. With an annoyed groan he got up, sitting at the edge of the bed for a bit and picking up the pillows he had shoved off of the bed in frustration a few hours ago. If he was lucky, he could get some naps in during breaks and maybe English class, it was his best subject so the damage would most likely be at a minimum. A long yawn escaped his lips, and he felt a slight stinging at the corners of his mouth where the skin was being stretched. It took him about another two minutes before a hand was dragged through the blond mop of hair, the other rubbing his right eye before getting up from the bed. Arms above his head, Kise stretched himself out, feeling his spine snap into place as he let out a relieved sigh at feeling his muscles relax, feet slowly dragging him to the bathroom where the daily routine started. A shower, fixing his hair, then obviously get something to cover up those bags and not to forget, his (trademark) earring.

As simple as that morning routine sounds, with a perfectionist like Kise it still takes at least an hour before he will even consider going out the door. Luckily all that went a lot easier than trying to get some sleep, and he even got it all done rather fast compared to other days. Grabbing the clothes he had already taken out the night before, golden eyes fell onto the uniform peeking out of his sports bag, a tingling feeling in his stomach again as a smile crept onto his lips. He really kept himself up all night over this, huh? It's been a while since he had been this excited over a match, after all the moment they were at a level where their opponents would just give up upon facing them, and mostly Aomine in that regard, basketball stopped being something challenging. Or rather, matches and games were becoming boring, and the only thing that kept him excited over basketball compared to previous sports, were the one-on-one games he'd play with Aomine. Whatever was the reason he was excited now, it would likely prove nothing good.

* * *

 _\- Want to go out on a date?_ _（_ _*_ _3_ _＾）_ _/_ _-_

Do you wish to delete your message without saving?  
Yes.

 _\- Maji Burger? My treat~ (though I take kisses as repayment_ _) –_

Do you wish to delete your message without saving?  
Yes.

 _\- Kagamicchi! We should go try that new ride at the amusement park together~! (_ _^O^_ _) –_

Do you wish to delete your message without saving?  
Yes.

No matter what he wrote, nothing seemed right. That, and there was no way he could send any message like that without his nerves going anywhere and everywhere. He'd suffocate from being unable to breathe before he'd even get a reply, not to forget a possible heart failure the way it was going a mile a minute once more. How can a person be so damn nervous over something that seems so easy? Every time he'd tell himself this time he'd do it, this time he'd definitely send it. And every single time it ends in the blond just deleting all his words and eventually tossing the phone through the room. This was all Kagami's fault, no doubt about that. How else could he have fallen for someone like Kagami if not for the guy having put some weird spell on him?

 _\- I love you –_

Without even bothering to delete his words, the teen threw the phone at the door to his room, a loud thud when it hit said door, followed by a more quiet one as it fell to the floor, screen still a bright white with a few black letters filling not even 5% of the white canvas. "Ugh… Kagamicchi, I hate you."

 _But I love you…_

And once again a familiar ring, a very specific one that caused the blond model to pick his phone back up in less than a second, deleting the message he was writing before and checking the text that had been sent to him from no one other than 'Kagamicchi' himself.

' _You're late.'_

And as usual a smile appeared on Kise's face, a quiet sigh before he went to lay on his bed and just go about the daily routine again. Next time he'd definitely send it, next time for sure. Though, in all honesty he knew very well that he wouldn't, that it'd just be shoved onto the next day, and the day after that, and so on. He knew he'd back out, but could only hope it'd build up his courage so that one day, he'd actually be able to say what he wants to say… or 'type' in this case.

' _You're impatient~_ _(_ _ﾉ･ｪ･_ _)_ _ﾉ_ _'_

* * *

** End Chapter 1 **


	2. CH2: Isn't it obvious!

Lost.  
For the first time in his life he had lost a match, not counting all the one-on-one games he used to play with Aomine. Had this been a one-on-one with Kagami he'd have won without a doubt. That was just the problem, if only Kagami had been more like Aomine, he'd have tried to take on the blond all by himself and they'd have never even made it close to a tie between the two teams. But no, the redhead actually passed to Kuroko, and with that the whole game became a lot more difficult, not to even mention the fact that their ace seemed to be floating in that last second.

Thoughts were interrupted by a weird tingling feeling going down his cheeks, the further it went down the more noticeable it became, soon enough causing the blond to wipe a hand across his right eye. Crying, he had been called crybaby more often than not, but then again when you tell someone you have been crying into your pillow every night since they 'dumped you', also known as 'turned down your offer', you might just be asking for it. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise he was crying right now, and of course upon knowing he was doing so it only became worse. Losing sucked, and at the same time he couldn't help but feel motivated to train more and show them a thing or two next time they'd play a match.

It didn't take long, and was also no surprise when a foot was shoved harshly against his behind, and he wouldn't have to think twice to know who was standing behind him and delivering that kick. "Stop crying." Well he didn't plan on crying in the first place, but a kick to the butt surely helped him to quit, as weird as that might be. "And you've got some balls to say you've never lost before. I'll hit you!"

The only thing the blond could think at that moment was 'don't you always?' as his eyes were just focused on the ash grey eyes of his senior, facial expression remaining surprised as he listened to the words that followed, and gave a slight smile as if to say 'of course'. "You better add the word 'revenge' to that empty dictionary of yours!" Yup, that was Kasamatsu for you, always knew how to cheer one up while insulting them at the same time, you'd almost call it a talent.

The line-up had to be the worst thing when one had lost the match, even more so when you're constantly worrying about whether your eyes are red or not, and how noticeable it is. However as he, as the ace of Kaijo, was facing Kagami, he couldn't help but notice that the other wasn't showing anything like pity for him, nor did he seem to be laughing at him internally. If you'd take away his rude manner of speech and behavior, this guy might not be all that bad at all. Still, he had no reason to look beyond that, a 'might not be all that bad' was all the compliment he was going to give. He had potential, if he'd focus on that one skill he might just get to a level that could be considered equal to the rest of the Generation of Miracles. Still, Kise was nothing less but determined to win the next time they'd play, high jumps or not, team play or not, not even that sneaky coordination he had set up with Kuroko would stop him from winning next time.

While everyone was getting changed and ready to see Seirin off, Kise, as impossible as that sounds, managed to get away unnoticed and thus took away the chance to say goodbye to his former teammate. It wasn't what was bothering him though, moreover the inner conflict in his head was winning over the regret of not saying goodbye. The cold water running through his hair and cooling down his head helped a little, the running water covered up the sound of footsteps as they only became audible the moment the blond turned off the faucet.

"Gemini's horoscope predicted terrible luck for you today, but I didn't think you'd actually lose." Who else could that be but their past teams three point shooter, Midorima Shintarou. He knew no one else who would base a match off of an Oha-Asa horoscope. "You came to watch, Midorimacchi?" It wouldn't be so surprising if it wasn't for the distance between their schools, has the other really been that interested in this practice match that he'd come all the way out here? "Either way, it was an unfortunate game. Even a monkey could have managed those dunks." Ah that's right, Midorima had never been a big fan of dunks in comparison to his three pointers. He had once given the reason that he didn't understand why people liked dunking so much when it'd only gain a team two points compared to the three points he'd get. Kise had given him the answer that he thinks a dunk looks cooler, but Midorima had obviously never come to agree with him on that.

"It's no wonder fate didn't choose your side." Or maybe fate was just busy doing other, more important things than worry over a practice match at basketball. Honestly, it wasn't like he disliked Midorima. He respected his skills and they got along enough to talk about basketball casually, but it wasn't difficult to say the green haired teen was his least favorite when it came to the Generation of Miracles. They just never were on the same line, not to mention the other rejects him in nearly every way possible because god knows why. Not to forget, he had a tendency to be very bold with his words, often on the verge of just plain rude.

"I haven't seen you since middle school. It's good to see you again." Kise mumbled. It must have been very obvious that he wasn't really agreeing with his own words that much, but who would be happy to see someone after they'd compare you to a monkey? "I see you haven't stopped taping your fingers." A habit the blond found a little over the top, which was a whole lot of something coming from him, but he could understand the other felt the need to keep his fingers from any damage or physical change as much as possible. "Anyway, who cares if I dunk as long as it goes in?"

"That's why you're no good. Getting the ball in from up close is easy, getting it in from far away has true value." That was somewhat true, but that still didn't take away that there shouldn't be any complaints about dunking as long as he makes the shot, or so he thought. "Didn't anyone teach you to 'do the likeliest and God will do the best'?" Kise couldn't do anything but just stare at him with a straight face, wondering where he got all these sayings from and whether they actually made sense or not. Some just sounded like someone grabbed a bunch of fancy words and tossed them all together.

"Optimal effort makes you worthy of fate's grace." A towel was tossed at the blond. Who, a little clumsily, grabbed it as it started making its way down to the ground. "I always do my best, and I always keep the Oha-Asa horoscope's lucky item on me. By the way, today's item is a toy frog." As cute as it was, the fact Midorima didn't mind walking around with a toy frog at hand in public was somewhat insulting as he'd always make a fuss about Kise walking with him or even standing close to him in public. Though maybe he was just not looking forward to being surrounded by any possible fans of the model, maybe? "That is why my shots never miss." Again, how his former teammate connected his Oha-Asa horoscope to his play during basketball remained a mystery to Kise.

"Shouldn't you be talking to Kurokocchi instead of me?" Roughly translated 'please go take your frog elsewhere because you're not making my day any better'. "There's no need. B-blood types like me and A-blood types like him never get along." Just when you'd think it couldn't get any weirder than the horoscope stuff, he starts about blood types, typical.

"I not only acknowledge his style, but respect it. But I cannot accept his decision to attend an obscure school like Seirin." Finally something they could somewhat agree on. However whereas Midorima couldn't accept it, Kise just didn't understand why Kuroko had chosen to go to Seirin and join a team that couldn't draw out his full potential. The blond would have loved to see him join Kaijo and play a match with him once again, instead of against him. "I simply came because we'll play them in the division preliminaries." Which could be identified as nonsense, seeing as there'd be matches before theirs more close to Shutoku rather than Kaijo. Of course there was no way Kise would point this out to someone with a sense of pride like his.

"But honestly they're not good enough."

* * *

Shit.

Shit, shit and nothing else but shit.

' _Say, I'll be around for a shoot tomorrow morning. Want to go somewhere after~?_ _（〃・_ _ω_ _・〃）'_

It actually sent. In the panic of cancelling another message, he had actually sent it. The silence had been going on for nearly five minutes now, no response from the other side and it was damn near killing him, suffocating even more so than usual. Hands trembled as they tried to follow his brain, trying to think of something to type to kill this awkward silence, though everything up there had shut down as much as the rest of his body. Thumbs hovered over the buttons as the phone suddenly gave a light buzz and a ring, message popping up on the screen and it brought a sigh of relief from Kise's lips.

' _What time?'_

Maybe it wasn't all that bad he had accidently sent the message, at least it got him some time together with Kagami. The blond could only hope the other wouldn't invite Kuroko along, or assume Kuroko would have been invited as well. No, he just wanted some time with the redhead for himself, just this once.

' _hmmm, 12:30 at Maji burger? They still have those salads, right?_ _｢_ _(_ _ﾟﾍﾟ_ _)'_

' _I think so..'_

' _Then I'll see you tomorrow~'_

There was no reply, no confirmation if he'd really be there or not. But Kise would just assume he would be, he had to be around the area anyway so it was no big deal if he'd end up not coming at all. "Not showing up would be rude though, Kagamicchi." He put the phone aside and let out another sigh, slowly feeling his body relax as he draped his arms over the chair's armrests. "So you better be there.."

* * *

12:48

He was late.  
He was running and he was running late. Had he not been sprinting his butt off, he'd probably be cursing at himself all the way to the meeting point. The only thing going through his mind was how he hoped the other would still be there by the time he'd arrive, or rather he hoped the other had shown up in the first place.

A left turn, sharp. The amount of people he nearly bumped into had reached the double digits by now and it still didn't get him to slow down his pace. Feet swiftly avoiding running into anything, only coming to a halt when a busy crossroad made it impossible to go on without getting run over. Though as soon as lights turned green he just continued as if he never had stopped at all, not even for a second. Another turn, a right turn this time and the giant 'M' sign, standing out above all else, couldn't make him any happier right now. A few more steps, just about three, two..

One…

His back leaned against the wall, lungs burning as he tried to catch his breath. Left hand running through his hair, tugging loose strands out of his face as his right hand fetched the red phone from his pocket, turning it on just to check the time.

12:52

Nearly half an hour late, maybe he should've texted Kagami he'd be running late. Then again, what if he hadn't shown up at all? That would've been an awkward conversation. Finally feeling his heart no longer trying to burst out of his chest, as well as his breathing returning to a somewhat normal rhythm, the blond pushed himself away from the wall and went inside, eyes scanning the place for a hint of red. He could spot red vests, red bags, red scarves but so far those weren't exactly the things he was hoping to find. In the corner of his eyes he could see a small bit of a dark crimson color, turning his head to see the one he had been hoping to find, staring out the window with, of course, a cheeseburger locked between his teeth. Had he been waiting for him there the whole time? Or rather, had he been gazing out the window, looking for him during the time he had been sitting there? Going by the empty wrappers scattered across the table, the redhead had already gone through more than half of his stack of burgers. It'd never cease to amaze him how much of an appetite this guy had.

His appearance had caused for a slight bit of commotion in the establishment, however his golden eyes never left that one specific bit of red, as his feet started moving him towards it. A smile plastered onto his face, Kise plopped himself down on the seat across Kagami's, elbows planted on the table and fingers intertwined to form a place he'd rest his head. "Ka-ga-mi-cchi~" He said in the usual playful tone, all syllables of his name (plus –cchi) divided. Eyes, a same crimson color, looked up to meet Kise's own and he could swear he felt his heart skip a beat and bump against his ribcage again. He'd admit, he missed startling the other a little, but he probably got used to having Kuroko show up out of nowhere by now.

Though the eye contact didn't last long, as the other went back to whatever he was looking at outside soon enough. This caused a slight pout to form on the model's face, something he was sure would look childish, but he couldn't care less right now. "I'm sorry for being late. The shoot was delayed and I couldn't just leave early. Look! I ruined my best shirt for you, running all the way here!" The blond whined, tugging at his shirt as to emphasize his words, though it being a white shirt there wasn't much of a stain to be seen.

"Next time just send me a text you'll be late or something, it's not like you don't have my number." Was the reply he got, along with a slight glare but at least he wasn't ignoring him now. "Fine fine, got it~" Maybe his response was a bit too cheerful, but why wouldn't it be when he knew he'd be spending his day with this stubborn 'friend' of his? 'Next time' though. If that meant what he thought it did, it might just be time to make room in his schedule for some more 'dates' with Kagami. His line of thought was broken as a small, carton box was pushed in front of him. "Eh? Kagamicchi, you know I can't eat burgers this much. I've got to watch my weight." As stupid as that probably sounded, it was nothing but the truth. Kagami being able to stuff himself and still stay in perfect shape, he didn't have that ability at all. Rather, he had about the exact opposite.

With a loud click of the tongue, the other replied to the blond's remark. "It's a salad! Didn't you ask me yesterday?!" He seemed a bit annoyed, something that could be forgiven though considering the blond had been late. Now that he mentioned it though, Kise did recall asking him whether they still had salads or not. "I didn't expect you to order one for me though. How much was it?" His fingers curled around the carton and carefully opened the box, indeed showing nothing but a salad. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, something that was most likely small bits of ham or something alike, it was meat for sure, and in a separate, small plastic bag was the salad dressing. "Hey, it's not like I'm broke after buying one salad. Just eat it, my treat."

'Kagamicchi, you're too kind.' Was all he could think, looking down at the salad again and before he could even ask whether it came with a fork or anything like that, Kagami tossed a plastic one at him, the blond caught off guard a little and barely catching it with two hands. This wasn't quite like their first meeting where it was a basketball flying at him, which he managed to catch with one hand and here he was, holding a white, plastic fork with two hands, a shocked expression on his face and his breath stuck in his throat. It'd be hilarious if it weren't downright embarrassing. Regaining his composure, the model held the fork in one hand now, locked between his fingers as his eyes gave the carton box in front of him a judgmental look. "It's a little illogical that they put something like a salad in a carton box though, don't you think?" Looking up at Kagami, he could only see the other give him a shrug in reply as another burger got taken out of its wrap and almost immediately ended up between the redhead's teeth. It proved difficult not to stare, even though the way he was eating was nothing close to proper manners.

"Anywhere you want to go today, Kagamicchi?"

* * *

A long silence fell, all eyes on Kise as his were focused on Kagami's hand. Or, more specifically, his own hand holding Kagami's down to the table firmly.

To keep a long story short, as per usual Kagami and Aomine felt the need to bother each other in a one-on-one game. Something Kuroko seemed to find interesting as he had taken a seat at the nearest bench, and of course, for the blond, the temptation was too big to not seat himself down right next to the smaller male. So that is exactly what he did, and why he was there in the first place, well that was confidential and most definitely another shoot for a magazine, but he was definitely not walking around the area afterwards to spot a certain redhead 'by coincidence'. Back to the now though, blue eyes shifted to look at him for a second, acknowledging his presence before turning back to watch the game, the straw of a milkshake between his lips and it didn't look like it'd be removed until said milkshake would be gone until the last drop.

"Kagamicchi is improving quickly, don't you think?" Were the first words leaving the blond's lips, and it made him wonder when Kagami became his first subject in a conversation. Usually he'd either start about himself or the person he was having the conversation with. "I guess." A small reply as to not miss out on the vanilla milkshake for too long, or so it probably was. Though, what was with that reply? You'd think playing basketball alongside each other nearly every day would make improvement easy to notice, or maybe it was the opposite?

A bit of small talk was all he could get out of this right now. Kise whining about how he disliked being so far away from Kuroko and how he wanted to play basketball with him again someday. Whatever conversation was going on quickly was forgotten though when he heard his name being called. "Kise!" eyes, somewhat resembling the color scheme of a sunflower the way the outer ring was near yellow compared to the brown color around his pupil, turned their attention towards the source of said call. Tthe corners of his lips curled up as that 'certain redhead' from before came running at them, the ball held firmly beneath his arm and pressed against his ribs, Aomine not too far behind him but walking at a regular pace, as expected.

The other stopped only a few feet away from where they were sitting, a smile on his face as his gaze went from Kise to Kuroko, pulling the blond out of his daze. However it didn't last long before those crimson eyes turned back to look at him, and he wasn't sure whether it was a good or a bad thing that his gaze was able to bring the model's breathing to a halt.

"So.. are you—"  
"—Joining you for lunch, Kagamicchi? I thought you'd never ask~"

He certainly hadn't been paying attention to Kagami's little habits and patterns, that'd be a lie. By now he could probably copy him to the point it'd become downright creepy. Not that he could help it when those little quirks and habits of his were so adorable and one was unable to ignore once they'd notice. For example how he'd always prefer sitting by the window at a food establishment, and would look outside before even taking a single bite. Unless he was nearly starving, then looking out the window could wait for about a cheeseburger or two. Considering Kise got his information from a few meet-ups and what he heard from others, maybe he should cut down on his observations a little…

As if he could ever do that.

Lunch was, of course, going to be at Maji Burger. With Kagami liking their burgers and Kuroko liking their vanilla milkshakes, there wasn't all that much choice. Not that it was that far of a walk, but it was a little funny how the pair never had to even think about where to lunch next. Arriving at the place, the other three, surprisingly Aomine had tagged along, went in line to place their orders. Kise however, just went ahead and sat at one of the bigger tables, tossing his bag onto the seat next to him and watching the rest of their little group get their lunch. He hadn't been doing all that much ever since breakfast, and eating when you're not hungry seemed a little pointless, especially when you'd have to watch your weight and all, like he had to.

Aomine next to him, Kuroko across Aomine and right in front of him would be a giant pyramid of burgers hiding 'his Kagamicchi', though it might've seemed less giant had he been sitting up straight and not draped across the table, head placed down on top of his arms.

"Your appetite is horrifying, as usual." The oldest of the four spoke in a sigh, slightly irritated by the lack of a good view. "Does he always eat this much, Tetsu?" Yes, yes he does and it's unfair how he stays in shape even though he stuffs himself like this. Is what the blond thought but again, this was one of those things about Kagami he considered to be adorable. "Don't worry, Kagami-kun will eat it all by himself." At that, Kise recalled the time he and Midorima were told the exact same thing, and how much it confused him at first. "That's exactly why I asked! How can you two consider this normal?!" Ah, now that he asked, when exactly had he started to consider it normal?

No change whatsoever in the past three minutes.

Somehow, whatever topic they were talking about had turned into an arm wrestling match. Of course, Kuroko forfeited right from the start, saying he values his arms too much for something like that. For someone who specializes in passing, not a strange thing to say. But now Aomine and Kagami had been trying to push the other's arm to the table for over five minutes. Where at first there was a bit of a sway, the least bit of a chance one would be going down, right now they were just in the same spot, no advantage for either of them and it was starting to get extremely—"Boring…"

As the word fell from his lips, two pair of eyes (Kuroko's had drifted off to watch whatever was going on outside long ago) turned to look at him, almost spitting fire at him had that been possible. "Alright then, pretty boy. You're up!" Seirin's ace pulled back his hand and placed his elbow right in the middle of their table, eyes locked on Kise as he held his hand out for him to take up on the challenge. "You know I'm not going to lose this, right?" The blond gave one of his trademark smiles and copied Kagami's posture, hand firmly wrapping around the one being held out to him as he was immediately faced with the other trying to push his hand back to the table.

Kise's honey colored eyes were glued to crimson ones, unable to break eye contact unless he had to blink, drifting off into thoughts he completely stopped paying attention to what was happening around him, including this arm wrestling match he got dragged into. This guy across him, this idiot with that determined grin on his perfect face was sitting right fucking across him. The blond had been giving him smiles, winks, flirty looks and remarks so much it was starting to become embarrassing and yet the other never noticed any of that! How many times he deleted a text because of all this, how many times he had to reread his own words to make sure he didn't just type his thoughts out, the feelings this idiot made him go through, the smiles he'd give upon seeing him, why does he never notice anything?!

A loud slam…

By the time Kise had calmed down in his mind a little, all eyes were on him, including Kuroko's. Confused, he tried to figure out what he did to get their attention like this. That's when he felt a slight twitch beneath his fingers, gaze turning to see his own hand, firmly pressing down the hand of 'this idiot' to a point where he was worried it was physically hurting him and pulled his own hand back in less than an instant. Not a word was spoken for at least a minute, and even his former teammates seemed speechless on how he, apparently, had beaten the redhead at his own little game in less than a minute. The model gave another cheeky smile at them and directed his eyes right at Kagami's again. "Told you I wouldn't lose~" He said playfully and noticed the other withdrawing his hand in silence, only to grab one of the few burgers he had left and toss it at the only person at this table who was currently smiling. "Congrats." Was the response he got along with it, not noticing any specific, negative mood or feeling behind the words and thus turning his attention towards the wrapped bundle in his hands. As sweet as it was, he could feel the grease sticking to his fingers and could only pray he wasn't supposed to eat this, maybe he could place it back with the others unnoticed?

* * *

The day had been perfect. Just him and Kagami, walking through town together. They went through a few shops selling sport supplies, including shoes, where Kise discovered the other had quite an unusual size. He knew Kagami had a size larger than his, but when he heard '29,5' it sounded so ridiculously large it had him look down to his feet immediately and wonder just how much space would be left if he'd try on one of Kagami's shoes. Every now and then the blond would see something to his liking in the display window and drag the other ace with him to try on an outfit or two… or more. In the end they got some food at a snack bar close by before the fun was abruptly ended.

He should've checked the weather for that day in the first place.  
Rain, and not even a little bit.

It was as if someone was emptying a giant bucket above them, a shower would be a mild description compared to this waterfall that was happening right now. With how sudden the rain came falling down, and how little spots there were to shelter, both of them were quite drenched in no time before finding a bus stop that managed to shelter them for a bit. The first thing to do was of course pull a displeased face at how his outfit was looking right now, soon followed by complaints of how cold it was compared to the relatively sunny weather before. Though, the moment he saw the other parting his lips to speak, Kise froze in place and felt his face being drained from any color.

"We could go to my place, at least until it settles down."

Well shit.

* * *

** End Chapter 2 **


	3. Here, there and everywhere

It was dark when they entered through the door, Kise trying to imagine what his eyes would be able to see as soon as the light would be switched on, though those same eyes widened in surprise the moment they were able to take in his surroundings. The lights went on as soon as the redhead tapped the light switch at his left before starting to take of his shoes. He had expected something completely different, something that was like the bedroom of a sixteen-year-old, but then spread across a whole apartment. This, this was something he'd expect from an adult, someone at least in their twenties. Nothing scattered around the place, everything was looking so clean and neat it amazed him, as Kagami always managed to do in one way or another. Maybe it was because the redhead reminded him of Aomine so much at first that he assumed the place would be messy, or at least a little unorganized.

"You coming in or not?" Had he been staring that long? Kagami had already taken off his shoes and put them by the door, a trail of small drops went from the door into the apartment, the blond following it with his eyes until they landed on the owner of the place, a towel covering up most of his red hair, a few strands peeking out from underneath. Wait a minute, had he been standing there flabbergasted long enough for Kagami to go fetch himself a towel?! Suppressing the urge to hit himself on the head, Kaijo's ace pressed the nose of his right shoe to the heel of his left, easily slipping his left foot out and repeating the process for his right. He pushed the shoes aside with that same right foot again and slowly stepped further into the place, golden eyes wide open as they occupied themselves, taking in everything his eyes could see.

Had he been paying more attention, maybe then he wouldn't have let out that surprised noise, along with his body flinching. Suddenly his vision was nothing but a blurry grey and white, taking a second to realize a towel had just been dumped onto his head, and he wished it had ended right at that point. Through the soft fabric, he could feel the warmth radiating from the other's hands on either side of his face, rubbing the towel against his hair firmly as to dry it. "You look like a nearly-drowned cat.." And thank you for the compliment Kagamicchi. He was about to give a remark in return, but the moment the towel slipped back on his head enough for him to peek from beneath the hem of the towel, everything came to a halt. Nothing but a broken, throaty sound left his mouth. Mere inches away from him. Kagami's face was mere inches away from him, and Kise was sure someone had just set his face on fire the way it suddenly started heating up like crazy.

The blond panicked and brought his hands up to grab the towel, stepping back as to distance himself from the other and pulling the towel down again, enough to cover up his face and the blush that had invaded it right now. He felt his fingers brushing along Kagami's hand as he reached for the towel, the way this whole thing was getting his mind all wishy-washy, it wasn't fair!

"Got it, I got it!" He muttered out, slightly stumbling over his words as he roughly dried his hair until he was sure the red glow had left his face, pushing the towel off of his head and leaving it to hang around his neck. "There! Now do I look like a regular cat, hmmm? Kagamicchi?" The other's response came a little delayed compared to the usual, maybe too much on his mind? "Ah, sure." Kagamicchi, that's too vague of an answer.

With a long sigh, the blond brushed some strands of hair behind his ear and looked around once more. "So… being out of the rain is great and all, but I'm kind of getting the floor soaked here." Or as one could translate that, 'where do I leave these horrid, drenched clothes and please tell me you've got something I can borrow for now'. "Right, just take off your clothes and I'll toss them into the tumble dryer." Thank the gods for tumble dryers, and thank them even more for letting Kagami have one. Yet, why had the other turned silent? Why was he standing there with his eyes on the blond as if he was expecting something to happen?

…

Oh fuck no!  
There was no way in hell he was expecting Kise to just strip down to his underwear right in front of him like this, right?! That redhead better continue talking and tell him to change in the bathroom or something, come on gods or whatever, just have him say 'you can change in the bathroom if you want to'.

But there was nothing, not a word, crimson red eyes still glued to him and Kise wished the floor would just swallow him whole right now as he hung his head enough for Kagami to be unable to see his face. His hands moved up to take off the black waistcoat he had been wearing over his white V-neck for today. The moment it was off, the blond held it out for the other to take it from him, which was exactly what happened. Next he removed the necklace hanging around his neck, a brown, leather one with Tibetan silver beads hanging from it, tossing it onto the couch smoothly before he could feel his hands starting to tremble as they went back down to unbuckle his belt, tugging it off through the belt loops and tossing it onto the couch as well before his fingers tightly wrapped around the edging of his black jeans. This felt as if he was giving some cheap striptease, and that feeling really didn't help him to feel any better about the situation.

Pulling them down and stepping out of said jeans, he tossed it at Kagami, not even feeling like waiting for the other to take it from him as he grabbed the hem of his white V-neck and without a second of a pause, pulled it up and over his head, feeling his skin cool down immediately the moment it was no longer covered by clothing. Still trying his best to hide his face, Kise, slightly annoyed, threw the shirt at the redhead. Well, he was hoping he was throwing it at him at least and not just some random direction, as he hadn't really bothered to check. A silence followed, and the blond had never felt more uncomfortable even though he was used to have over a dozen of cameras following his every move, he really felt as if he was on display now.

"Kise."

"What?" He didn't really care much whether that sounded irritated or not, it was to be expected.

"Socks."

' _Kagamicchi now you're just being cruel!'_  
Or so he thought as he pulled up one foot after the other and yanked the socks off.

* * *

Downright gorgeous.

Even with Alex parading through his house naked almost on a daily basis, and him being used to that by now, this had managed to suck all the air straight from his lungs and leave him feeling like he was unable to breathe in anymore. There was no other way to describe the sight in front of him right now. As a basketball player, the changing rooms had always been a place one could relate to seeing your teammates shirtless. There was no embarrassment, and even though occasional stares happened it was never something that could be considered creepy or indecent as they usually lasted only a few seconds. But Kagami was pretty sure that, right now, he was being pretty creepy and indecent, staring at someone he had come to see as his rival for way longer than he should've been. He knew he was staring, and he knew exactly for how long he had been, but still couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off of the other.

Blond hair, still slightly damp, hid his face but the redhead could only imagine what kind of a face the other was making right now. Hands holding onto the stack of clothes, drenched from the rain, as his eyes kept following the blond's every move, every single twitch of the model's muscles as he lifted his foot to take of the sock sticking to it. Whoever said Kise was good-looking was so, oh so wrong. Good-looking wasn't even worthy of describing him, neither was 'downright gorgeous' but it'd have to do considering his vocabulary had a limit when it came to describing pretty things (like Kise).

His gaze went all the way across, from the nape of the model's neck down to his ankles, and back up again. Even though he could only see the back, it was obvious that Kise spent a lot of time on staying in shape. Kagami couldn't find a single point he'd consider as less compared to the rest, and it wasn't surprising to say the blond must surely be training every single muscle in his body in order to be able to copy so many moves and playing styles. Whereas his own training was more focused on his legs and jumping ability, the other had no point of focus at all, and the crimson-eyed teen couldn't help but think of him as someone even more amazing right now.

The blonde's shoulders were broad, but at the same time they weren't, it was hard to explain but it sure fit him. The line on his back, starting between his shoulder blades and going all the way down until it stopped right above the boxer shorts the other was wearing, was perfectly straight and in the middle of his back, drawing out the exact location of his spine. The outline of his frame was more curved than Kagami's own, a smooth curve going down from his waist to his hips and giving a slight hint of where his hipbones were. Even though it was covered up, the redhead was pretty sure they'd be even more emphasized beneath those boxer shorts, as much as that thought made him feel a bit like a creep. Eyes traced his frame a little longer, going down from his hips to rest on those long and flawless legs for a moment, amazed by how the blond had not a single stretchmark even though he was about as tall as Kagami.

It wasn't until the moment where a pair of socks were shoved onto the stack, did the crimson-eyed teen pull himself together and avert his gaze elsewhere. The way the clothes had been shoved at him was enough for him to know he'd better get to putting them in the tumble dryer if he valued his life.

"Bedroom's over there—" He gestured by lifting his head slightly into the direction of his bedroom, hoping the other had his head up enough to be able to see that. "Just, grab whatever you want from the closet." He wasn't all that secretive about his closet, it was just clothes in there anyway, and neither was he bothered by Kise wearing whatever he felt like taking out of that closet.

A sharp turn on his heel and his focus changed from the model in his living area, to the task at hand. If the rain would stop pouring down soon, that'd save him some awkward behavior.

* * *

Should he? Or should he not?

The other had said he could grab anything from the closet, so the temptation was pretty big to reach for that one piece of clothing he had come to know all too well. His fingers moved forward until they touched the fabric, sliding down a few inches before he got a firm grip on that same fabric, his other hand reaching for the coat hanger and taking it out, eyes scanning it once more before he took it off. He'd admit, he had always been curious as to how this would look on him, since the colors were so different from his own. Next to the top, the blond had already gotten himself a snug pair of navy blue sweatpants hanging loosely around his hips, dragging behind him slightly as the fabric went over his heels with ease. He moved over to the mirror and pulled the jersey over his head, arms easily slipping through the holes. The fabric was comfortable to say the least, and he'd admit seeing that indispensable number '10' cover most of his upper body made him feel proud ever so slightly.

He examined himself in the mirror for a little while, tugging at the jersey and quite surprised it wasn't that much different in size from his own. The fabric used for the hem wasn't the same as the rest of the top, neither was the fabric used for the number and the school's name right above it. Even though he wouldn't consider the three colors used for this a good match, it still looked pretty good all together with the white being the main color and the red just being used as an outline of some sorts. Not to mention, he'd consider himself pretty good-looking in this thing. Not that he didn't like his own uniform that used mainly blue, but the Seirin colors apparently really made his hair- and eye color stand out more than usual.

Not feeling like taking it off, Kise pulled a simple, wine red vest from the closet to cover up his arms and keep him warm more than just the jersey could do. The outfit was unbalanced and obviously thrown together without any intent to look presentable, but even so he liked it, maybe because these were Kagami's clothes rather than his own? One more glance at his mirror image before he gave a slight smile and opened the door, stepping out of the bedroom as it was a little bit awkward being in there by himself. Though, had he not been by himself it'd be even worse. The blond zipped up the vest, not too sure whether him wearing part of Kagami's uniform would sit well with him or not, he wasn't planning to take it off though.

Eyes widened, air got stuck in his throat, heartbeat abruptly came to a halt.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this might happen, seeing as they had both been drenched from the rain and the other most likely didn't have any clothes laying around other than in his closet. Still, the times he tried to imagine how well-kept and in shape the redhead would be beneath that jersey, they were a lot different and no match compared to seeing the real deal right in front of him. In his mind, the blond was drawing out every line his eyes could see, gaze lingering on his hips a little longer than anything else. Even with the boxers covering it, it wasn't difficult to state Kagami had some pretty obvious, protruding hipbones, and oh how perfect it looked on him. Not to even start on the abs not too far above the hem of his boxers, it took quite some effort not to glue his eyes on that sight. Without even looking any further down, the model redirected his focus back to his rival's face and gave a bit of a unsure smile.

"Will this do?" He said, tugging at the vest a little. It wasn't all that obvious the white peeking out from beneath was from the other's uniform, but with the long silence after his question it sure became quite nerve-wracking, had he noticed after all?

"Seems fine, clothes are drying now." He gestured at the door, from which the blond could only assume had the tumble dryer in the room behind it. How Kagami managed to stay so calm being stripped down to his underwear was beyond him. And then Kise noticed it, letting his line of sight drop down the other's body once more and pulling a surprised face before starting to chuckle, covering his mouth with his right hand.

"What's so funny?" Was he serious?! How could he not have noticed that after he had pointed it out to the blond not too long before.

"Kagamicchi.."

"Yeah?"

"… Socks."

Indeed.  
Socks.

Adorable…

* * *

The rain…  
Had still…  
Not stopped…

You'd expect those damn clouds to be out of juice at some point, but no such thing seemed to be happening anytime soon. It had been pouring down for hours, the sky had turned pitch black by now and Kise had already called home to inform he'd be late, thank god Kagami had checked his pockets or else his cellphone would've been enjoying a good tumble by now, and thus miss out on dinner (and maybe went a little overboard when he kept rambling about 'Kagamicchi' to his sister). Speaking of dinner, Kagami had moved himself into the kitchen, and little to say the blond missed his presence on the couch. A recording of the NBA games playing on the screen of the TV, which Kise had lost interest in the moment the other was no longer watching it with him.

After what seemed like an hour, but was only twenty minutes or so, the model let out a long whine and pushed himself off of the couch. An annoyed and sluggish expression covered his appearance, and his feet slowly dragged him towards the kitchen. He found the redhead standing in front of the stove, a black shirt and black sweatpants covering his frame as blue, fluffy slippers hid his toes from sight but still kept his ankles uncovered. He most likely heard Kise shuffling around, though kept stirring through whatever was in that saucepan standing on the stove. When he was only a few more steps away, the blond made himself audible. "Kagamichiiii… what're you making..?" Had he not been this hungry and down from the weather, he'd have made that sound a lot more enthusiastic.

"Satay, you're not allergic right?"

"As far as I know, I'm not." He answered, close enough to the other to peek at the contents of every pan on the stove. One indeed containing satay, while the other two were most likely chicken and what seemed like a giant mix of vegetables. "Chicken?" The model asked, curious as to whether he was correct or not, considering he wasn't all that much of an expert in food and basically everything that involved cooking. "Yup." Was the short response he got, and it wasn't until Kagami moved his shoulder up a little, tapping against Kise's jawline ever so softly, did the blond realize just how close he was to him now. His first reaction would be to jump back and distance himself from the redhead, but instead he kept himself in place, bare feet firmly on the ground as if he was glued to the floor.

Kise could feel his heart beating in his chest, the vibrations running all the way throughout his body as he could even feel it tingle at the tip of his toes. It was difficult to breathe calmly, but he managed to do so when he put his mind to it. Golden eyes looked to their left, watching Kagami's face as he fully focused on the food he was preparing. A part of him wanted the other to look at him, but another part wished he'd just stay like that forever, so the blond could just watch him and his concentrated expression for as long as he'd want to. Unconsciously he let his head drop down a bit, leaning his head on Kagami's shoulder, who flinched ever so slightly in response before just continuing what he was doing. This was nice, he wouldn't mind the rain to continue for a little longer.

"You want to stay over?"

…

"Eh?!"  
Did he just hear that correctly?!

* * *

Not a word had left his lips from the moment he said 'yes' when Kagami had repeated his question. Comparing the both of them, Kagami being so calm about this and Kise flipping his shit on the inside, it would be hilarious if it wasn't happening to him and if it wasn't happening right now. Unable to keep himself calm any longer, the blond had left the kitchen once more, taken back his spot on the couch as he tried to follow the game that was still going on the screen. His thoughts were everywhere right now, heart racing a mile a minute and he just couldn't stop thinking of how he'd be spending the night here unless the weather would magically clear up within the next hour or two.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a plate was held in front of him, empty. Kise looked up to meet crimson eyes, even more dark now that the light couldn't reach them, and gave a bit of a confused face as if to say 'why is it empty?'. He took a hold of it anyway, the redhead signing for him to follow as he went back to the kitchen, as to which the blond complied and got himself off of the couch again.

The smell was ridiculously good already, but when his eyes fell upon the food again it made his mouth water, and no that was not a common thing. In the back of his mind he was asking himself just how many calories he assumed to be in there, but the thought was pushed back even more as he scooped some food out of each pan and divided it neatly on his plate. Now all this was missing was—

A small bowl of rice was placed in front of him on the counter just when he was thinking it was missing rice, he'd almost think Kagami was reading his mind every now and then. A small glance at the other, along with one of the smiles he was known for by now, and he picked up his plate to get out of the kitchen again, though noticing 'the chef' holding out chopsticks to him just in time for him to grab them without having to stop or slow down his pace. At first the blond sat down at the table, but it didn't take long before the other came walking in with his own plate and sat down at the couch, calling for him to join so they could continue watching some of the games he had on DVD. It wasn't something he was used to, eating dinner on the couch, but who would pass an opportunity to join their crush on the couch? No one, exactly.

Of course his plate was nearly empty compared to Kagami's, but knowing his appetite it didn't surprise him a single bit. What did surprise him however, was the fork resting between Kagami's fingers. "A fork?" Did he have trouble eating with chopsticks? He had lived in America for quite a while, or maybe it was just—

"Easier." Really was this guy reading his mind or not?

"Besides, I can take bigger bites this way." Very much necessary if you'd eat as much as he did, there had to be enough food for Kise's whole household but here they were, just the two of them, and he highly doubted there'd be any leftovers. The room turned silent, the only sound coming from the TV as both males were too busy with dinner and focused on the game, well… one of them was. Kise couldn't help but glance at Seirin's ace sitting beside him, stuffing himself and of course his face didn't remain unscathed, which had the blond suppress a sigh. The way those red eyes lit up every time he'd see a player score, especially if it was a dunk, was more interesting to see than anything else. If only this guy had any idea of how amazing he was to the blond, it'd save a lot of trouble trying to mold that thought into actual words.

Not even finished with his dinner, his head turned to follow Kagami as he went back to the kitchen for seconds, definitely for seconds. And the sight of food stacked on the plate, the redhead trying his best to keep it balanced, proved he was right once more. He really had to cut down on the observations, by now he'd almost feel like a stalker. For a moment he shifted a bit in his spot, leaning to the side enough to look out the window and let out a sigh in defeat when he was faced with rain still falling outside.

"Kagamicchi, are you sure you're okay with having me stay over?" Normally he'd never ask something so stupid, but this was Kagami, and he just couldn't help but want to confirm the other indeed didn't mind him staying the night.

"I asked you to, didn't I? It's no problem at all, more than that it's a weekend. Relax a little."

Right, there was no need to worry about every little thing. But still, having confirmed he was welcome here once more made his heart flutter again. Kaijo's ace let out a content huff, audible enough for the other to hear as he stood up to bring his plate back to the kitchen, not a single bit of food left on it apart from the satay. "Kurokocchi wasn't lying when he said you are a great cook." The blond spoke from the kitchen, loud enough to be understandable even with the match playing, though he got no response to his compliment. "Honestly Kagamicchi, pay attention when someone praises you.." He mumbled with a slight pout before walking back to the couch, feet dragging slightly and feeling the edge of the sweatpants slipping beneath his heels with every step. He tossed himself back on the couch, a little closer to Kagami this time, definitely not on purpose.

"Whoa, I'm full." He said, blowing out air as if he was trying to deflate himself. A quick glance to the side had the blond let out another light chuckle just like before, one of Kagami's eyebrows arching up as he looked at him. "You've got a little something right here, there and everywhere~" Ever since the other had told him to relax he somehow felt a lot more at ease, and the flirty, carefree attitude came bubbling up once again. A thumb pressed against the redhead's lips and was dragged across, a few grains of rice sticking to his skin as he pulled it back to his own mouth and licked it off. "Even with a fork you're still messy, Kagamicchi." Kise sat back on the couch properly, vaguely seeing the tip of the other's tongue dart out to lick his own lips right where the model's thumb had been a second ago. That had kind of been an indirect kiss on his part, right?

Kise smiled lightly and pulled his feet up on the couch, wrapping his arms around his legs as he tried to follow the game once more, though apparently he had missed out on quite a bit as the score difference had grown a lot from the last time he had tried to watch the game. After a little while he let go of his legs again and leaned back a little as it was getting warmer and warmer ever since he had finished dinner, which wasn't uncommon at all. The blond zipped open the vest, eyes directed at the TV again until a sudden coughing fit going on next to him caught him off guard and had him turn to roughly pat Kagami's back in attempt to help. Did he just really choke on his food?

After the redhead had managed to get out whatever got stuck in his throat, he turned his head fiercely to look at Kise. "I know I said 'grab whatever you want'… but that's just… weird." Huh? What was he going on about? The model tilted his head slightly, a questioning look on his face as a finger pointed at the jersey top he was wearing beneath the vest. "That." The jersey's owner repeated, eyes locked on Kise's. "Hmm? I was just wondering if it'd fit. But it looks pretty good on me, no~?" There was that cheerful tone again, he had been missing that for most of the evening. "Well, yeah but… it's still kind of weird seeing you in my jersey instead of your own…" The way Kagami's eyebrows were pulled into a frown was probably the most adorable thing yet, and Kise couldn't help but take advantage of the moment and tease him, just a little.

"Then, next time you should wear mine too!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Eh? I'd almost say you want me to join you and Kurokocchi at Seirin? That's a little cruel to ask, don't you think?"

"Don't go assuming things for yourself!"

He was blushing.  
definitely, without a doubt, even with the red hair and red eyes, the same color was slowly showing up across his face. So as easy as it was to get him fired up on the court, as easy it was to get him embarrassed over nothing.

"I'm joking, I'm joking~ I'll go take it off then." After all, if he didn't like it there was no reason to keep it on. Who knows Kagami might just think of him as some creep if he'd insist on keeping it on. The blond proceeded to get off the couch once again, when a hand wrapped around his wrist and held him in place. "Keep it on…"

… wait what?

Kise turned his head to look back at the other, surprised to say the least, though with the other averting his eyes there was no way he could tell how confused the blond was without him voicing it. "Excuse me?"

"I said 'keep it on'."

Well yeah, he had heard that much. But why was the other insisting on him keeping it on? Maybe he didn't want to have it put back in his closet when it had been worn, or maybe he didn't want Kise to go pick something else to wear and have more laundry?

"You're right, it does look good on you.."

 _KAGAMICCHI YOU'RE MAKING THIS TOO DIFFICULT!_

* * *

** End Chapter 3 **


	4. The worst

A warmth.

It was all his mind could register right now.  
There was no sound, nothing but a pitch black surrounding him and had it not been for that warmth around him, he'd surely have felt a lot more panicked. The more he put his mind to it, the more noticeable that very quiet noise became. It sounded like a calm heartbeat, but it wasn't his own. The blond focused on that sound for a while until a breath of air hit the back of his neck and sent chills down his whole spine. Just what the hell was behind him?!

A familiar scent crept up to tickle his nostrils, and he could swear he knew this particular smell. He just couldn't place it, where did he know this from? It wasn't one of his own colognes, it had a spicy undertone and that wasn't something he'd wear. Still, he was sure he knew to what or whom it belonged, it was right at the tip of his tongue yet he couldn't bring himself to remember it.

It took a while before more of his senses seemed to wake up, first his sense of touch which had him not feel all that much more comfortable as it made him realize something was wrapped around his waist, the same warmth as before, though maybe a bit warmer and more focused at where it circled around him and against his back. Soon enough the darkness that had been preventing him from knowing just what exactly was happening, started changing into a different color. More colors came into view as time passed and a glance downwards had him nearly choke on his own saliva, an audible and loud gulp breaking the silence before a voice, that was not his own, did.

"Finally awake?"

It was nothing but a low growl coming from the other's throat, and the sound of it sent even more shivers across his whole body this time, ending at the tip of his toes as the model let out a shaky breath, inhaling with a quiet whine as his eyes were glued to the sight below his own waist. Arms were wrapped around him, as he had been able to feel quite a while ago, but what kept his entire focus down there was the hand that was working its way down into the sweatpants, no, even his boxer shorts! He felt lips being pressed to the nape of his neck, a low chuckle causing vibrations to spread across that same patch of skin as another soft whine was coming from behind his own lips. With his eyes, that had more of a Dijon gold color right now, taking in the view he recognized exactly who's hand it was going down his pants right now. A single glimpse of a fingernail, the skin that was tanned compared to his own, which was almost as if he was made out of porcelain. He had seen those hands blocking his shots more than could be counted on one hand (haha very funny, who was he? Izuki?) and with a bit of hesitation he let himself be heard.

"Kagamicchi..?"

"You expected anyone else?"

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh hell to the no this was NOT happening.  
He had to be dreaming, there was no way this was real.

A light squeeze caught him off guard, thoughts shoved aside for that wave of electricity that was rapidly making its way up his spine. Reality or not, he'd worry about that later, when he wasn't being fondled down there. Who would be able to think straight (no seriously when did he turn into Izuki?) in a situation like this? Just enjoying the moment while it lasted, going with it, was that all that bad? Before he could even give himself an answer to that, the blond had hooked his thumbs on the hem of both the pair of sweatpants he borrowed and his underwear, tugging it down enough to uncover his waist, upper legs and 'everything' in between. He could feel his heart beating loudly in his ears, as if it was trying to burst out in any way possible, it was almost scary.

Long fingers wrapped themselves around his hardening member, nails lightly scraping against his skin as it got Kise gasping for air, biting his lower lip to hold back a groan, though another squeeze had him open his mouth and spill the noise anyway. He could feel how each finger, one by one, started to slide across the sensitive flesh, forcing the blond to take short and uneven breaths as he tried to control his body, feeling every muscle twitch whenever those fingers would even move a single inch. Then, all of a sudden, he could feel teeth against the helix of his ear, his back arching ever so slightly as a guttural moan came from the back of his throat, and the way he could feel those lips against the back of his ear curl up into a smile had a vibrant red color spread across his cheeks. "You're too tense, relax a little." Easier said than done. It's not every day you find your crush's hand on your private parts, the least he could do was cut him some slack and just continue right now instead of teasing him like this.

As if his thoughts were voiced, fingers curled around his shaft tightly, pulling all the air straight from his lungs as the hand slowly started moving up before going right back down in one smooth motion. It was every time his index finger reached the tip did the other press it firmly against the slit, causing the blond male's legs to shake uncontrollably and a loud moan being ripped from his throat, fingers curling around the sheets and his back arching even more, which pulled him away from the warmth of the other's body. It was pure and utter bliss, the electric shocks going through his body with every move, the way his own temperature was going up so rapidly it made him dizzy. Once more a firm squeeze made him shut his eyes tightly as he saw stars and then—

A ceiling.

Eyes wide open and for a moment he didn't do anything, not even breathe, trying to puzzle together what had just happened in the matter of a second. Eyes looking around he recognized the room to be Kagami's bedroom, or so he assumed from all the basketball merchandise and the Seirin uniform hanging next to the door, and the way he was trapped inside a big bundle of sheets would explain the ridiculous heat he was feeling all around him. With a light click of the tongue, Kise shoved the sheets off of him roughly, wishing he hadn't done so when eyes fell upon a problem.

Oh a problem indeed.

His first thought was to ignore it and go to sleep, thinking it'd fade eventually. But as soon as the blond tried to shift onto his side, the slightest movement of the sweatpants' fabric had him squirming and holding back a sound he had been letting out so freely in what was apparently a dream, a really good one at that. His eyes went back downwards as a silent 'shit' came from behind gritted teeth, a low hiss following as his own fingers pulled down the garments to check the damage.

Was he really going to do this? It wasn't as if he had much choice, and judging by how the redhead was nowhere to be found he was either sleeping on the couch or still watching TV. He didn't really want to take the risk walking out and facing a wide awake Kagami with a hard-on, because this couldn't be more obvious even when covered. He'd just have to be quick about it, right?

His fingers wrapped around the member just like the ones in his dream had been, copying the movements and occasionally scraping his nails across the skin, free hand pressed against his mouth firmly to block out any noise that might slip out. As much as he wanted to get this over with, his lower parts didn't really seem to agree with the way he was handling things, and it became only more painful and frustrating the longer he went on. Was it a bad day for Gemini or something? Oh how much he sounded like Midorima now, but so far the whole Oha-Asa stuff had been pretty accurate, you'd almost want to blame this all on that.

With a scowl the model just closed his eyes, trying to recall what he was doing different from that redhead in his dream, seeing it all playing out before his eyes again and somehow the sparks of electricity came back to haunt his body once more. Whatever he was doing wrong, it sure felt a lot better imagining a hand that wasn't his own doing this, or more specifically, Kagami's. The blond was nearing the edge in no time, and before he could even think of the mess this was going to make, he reached his limit. Teeth latched onto the hand he had pressed against his mouth firmly as his back arched off of the bed, legs trembling like crazy and his vision turning a bright white as he let his orgasm wash over him for a moment.

As he pulled both his hands back, one covered in saliva and the other in something even more sticky than that, only then did he realize what he had just done. Eyes wide open as he slowly let his gaze fall down, face drained from all color as he thoroughly examined the sheets for anything that was most definitely not 'sheets'. A relieved sigh as all seemed to be fine, followed by a groan in discomfort at how he had managed to cover himself in his own stuff. He'd definitely take a shower in the morning, for now he'd just have to wipe this off, but of course the borrowed sweatpants weren't an option in the slightest, nor were his already soaked boxer shorts. A deep sigh as Kise sat up on the bed, pushing the sheets aside with his feet, as his hands were obviously a no-go, before getting up, yanking his underwear back up and trying to keep himself balanced, wobbly. Walking properly proved a whole challenge on its own as he opened the door and went to the bathroom, thanking the other in the back of his mind for telling him where it was, saved him from looking for it.

Once his hands and upper body were wiped clean, even having washed his hands a second time to be sure, the blond tossed the paper into the toilet and flushed it away. 'Gone with the evidence', was all he could think before he turned off the lights. It wasn't until now that he noticed how the TV was still on, some random program with people who claimed to be fortune tellers and a phone number at the bottom of the screen in what could only be the biggest and ugliest font in existence. Approaching the couch he found Kagami, clumsily draped over that same couch with a blanket barely covering him. A soft smile tugged at the lips of Kaijo's ace as he pulled the blanket from the other's grip, spreading it out to cover him properly before he crouched down in front of his rival's face. "The things you do to me, I swear…" He whispered, pinching the redhead's nose for a few seconds before the other let out a discomforted grunt, causing the blond to snort ever so slightly as he let go, a smile covering his lips as he was amused by the other's reaction. "Baaaakagamicchi…" Because why not add another syllable to it?

Getting back onto his feet, Kise made his way back to the bedroom, wondering why the other hadn't left him to sleep on there. As he recalled, the last moment before he fell asleep was when he had been leaning against Kagami on the couch. "You're too nice, like you're asking me to fall for you even more.." The blond mumbled beneath his breath, looking back once more and giving the other a smile even though he was obviously caught in a deep slumber. "Goodnight."

* * *

"What're you looking at?"

"A recording of this morning's Oha-Asa, it's their morning horoscope."

A black phone in his hand, white earplugs sticking out from the top and going up to the plugs that were sitting snuggly in his ears. Usually people wouldn't bother much with what Kise did on his phone, as he often got text messages he felt the need to reply to. Of course his superior, Kasamatsu, didn't really agree with that though unless it was about his work, maybe. But now he was just looking at his screen without any movement of his fingers, compared to his usual self when he'd have a phone in hand, sure it must've been a bit abnormal.

"When this thing's good, Midorimacchi's good."

It was still a mystery how a morning horoscope could predict how well he'd play that day, but as long as it proved to work there was no reason to complain about it. Back in Teiko too, when his horoscope would come out bad for the day, he'd be a whole lot more cautious, sometimes even putting himself on the bench for that day purely to avoid this bad luck predicted for him.

"Ah, the guy from Teiko. What's his sign?"

"Cancer. Kurokocchi is an Aquarius."

He's heard the green haired male mention all their signs so many times, he'd doubt they'd ever be able to be erased from his memory. It had given some fun, little information though. For example it is how he found out he was the oldest from their team back then, even though he certainly didn't act like it.

"I didn't ask."

'You never do' was what the blond said in the back of his mind, but for the sake of his ass not getting kicked he'd just keep that to himself for now. Pressing the 'play' button, his focus went away from the casual talk and back to the Oha-Asa recording.

'First place goes to Cancer, congratulations! You'll have no complaints today. Last place goes to Aquarius. Play it quiet today.'

The blond stopped in his tracks and let out a discomforted noise as he slightly gritted his teeth. Of course this all, plus the sudden change of the other's mood didn't go unnoticed by his superior walking right behind him. A bit of a startled noise before the short haired raven decided to speak up.

"What?"

The model turned to look at him, expression a whole lot less cheerful compared to before and maybe even on the verge of completely bummed out. The recording was paused again as he felt no need to listen any further, the differences in places of his former teammates their signs was enough to say this outcome was just-

"The worst.."

* * *

The silence wasn't too comforting, just hearing their own footsteps and the cheering of the crowd vaguely in the background. Kise had never been one to feel comfortable with long silences, especially not like this. A soft, but obviously annoyed groan had his ears perk up as he waited for words to follow.

"Geesh, you took so long to buy a drink the game has already started!"

And of course those same words were followed immediately by a punch to the back of his shoulder, causing the blond to lose his balance for a few steps before regaining the same pace he had before. Knowing he was in the wrong this time, he chose wisely to not respond to the other's remark and just rubbed the back of his head out of habit.

When eyes, a bright flaxen gold color due to the lighting, fell upon the court, the model let out a silent 'huh' in surprise as to how little there was happening. He had kind of expected a whole lot more going on considering this was Seirin playing down there. However, the moment his gaze shifted to the scoreboard the blond couldn't help but let his confusion be known after all.

"What?"

Eyes widened, lips slightly parted as he was still trying to lay a grasp on what he was seeing right now. How was it even possible that Seiho had taken a lead of twelve points and at the same time be able to not let Seirin have at least one?!

"Whoa, seriously?"

Had he not been so blown away, he'd probably have turned his head to see the face his superior was making right now. But he just couldn't take his eyes of the court anymore, he just had to see it, had to see how Seiho had shut down a team like Seirin right from the start. A few more seconds and he was called back to his senses, taking his eyes of the field for a moment to follow the shorter male to wherever he wanted to sit. Though, the moment they had found a place, golden eyes were instantly glued back to the same sight. He'd say this was an interesting match, but somehow 'interesting' sounded far too positive to describe how he felt about this. He could see Seirin struggle against the other team's defense more than just a little bit. Kagami especially, with the way the other player was preventing him from going anywhere, and somehow the sight seemed familiar. The ball was passed, Seirin's point guard, Izuki Shun, taking the ball to the opponent's basket but it was obvious for the crowd around them it'd be futile. It came as no surprise when the shot was blocked, and it got Kise wondering just how much pressure was being put on them that even someone with an ability like 'eagle eye' was becoming somewhat sloppy.

"What are they doing?" The model couldn't help but be a little annoyed by the way this match was going, as he had been looking forward to seeing Kuroko and Kagami go at full force, see if they had improved their coordination after their last practice match. Seemed like he wasn't granted to see such a thing right now.

"I thought so when we played them, but Seirin is a slow starter." Even so, this was not something you could just describe as a slow start. "Kagami is usually the one to put his foot on the gas, but without that they can't hit their stride." True that. During their match as well, the redhead had been all fired up at the start, though seemed to calm down around the middle of it all. The blond could clearly remember the grin on his face when he'd tease him, get him even more fired up to play at his fullest. Like fire in his eyes, you'd almost call it mesmerizing.

A loud whistle pulled him back into the game, seeing the referee put up his hand as he spoke.

"Charging! White, ten!"

He was getting angry. No doubt Kagami was getting angry, Kise couldn't say he knew him all that well to say what he would and wouldn't do, but he was pretty sure Seirin's ace wouldn't carelessly get a foul unless he was pissed off to the point where it'd cloud his mind just enough for him to act before he even thinks. Not to even mention this was apparently his second foul, if that hotheaded idiot wouldn't get himself to calm down it might just actually end up to be a loss for Seirin. 'No no Kagamicchi, you have to win this and play against Midorimacchi. I can't be the only one of us to lose to you, I'll get scolded!'

And that is when he remembered, the guy who had Kagami as his mark. Tsugawa Tomoki, the guy had been too much of a creep for him to forget that name. A pure and utter sadist from the way he smirked at Kise being scolded by his whole team, he had been very serious when he had asked them if they'd want to change marks with him. He could almost feel shivers running over his back at remembering the face that guy made back then, no thanks.

"Seiho's defense is man-to-man, but this is no ordinary man-to-man. They're creating pressure by staying right on their guys the whole time." That had to be why Kagami was on edge, so far he's only been dealing with team's that, as soon as they had the ball, would discard their marks and switch to offense immediately. "You can't break away from them easily. No matter how good you are at passing, if no one's free, you're playing at half power." Kise was glad to have Kasamatsu sitting next to him right now, as the other had often proved to be good at analyzing a match and the way he explained it was easy to understand as well. Had he been here by himself he'd most likely spend the whole match trying to figure out what the hell Seiho was doing that gave results like this, because it surely wasn't just the fact they were pressuring the other team so much, something else was off.

"Their defense is strong, but they'll never last until the end of the game playing like that."

"But they do."

And that was it, Kasamatsu seeing something he wasn't seeing. The blond couldn't imagine how they'd last like this for a whole game, they'd get tired and sloppy after a while like any team would, right?

"Because they use old martial arts techniques."

Now there was something he had never heard about in basketball before, using the techniques of another sport to, apparently, save up your stamina or something along those lines. His eyes followed a particular mop of red hair as he took a seat on the bench, their coach kneeled down in front of their players as it seemed she had also figured out what was so off about Seiho's movements. He concluded that much when he saw their ace make some cheap, movie-like martial arts move and the blond couldn't help but let out a quiet snort at the sight. As serious as he'd look on the court, Kagami could really be described as a dork off court. As his superior started to explain their difference in movement, Kise turned his head to look at him, such a well-mannered guy.

"One of the techniques they use is called 'namba running', it's when your arms and legs move together and go in the same direction. Apparently, by avoiding twisting you can reduce the strain of your body and the energy you spend."

"You know a lot about this." It was amazing how much their captain knew about a lot of things, and Kise couldn't deny he admired him for that.

"They're an unusual team. They've been interviewed by Basketball Monthly too."

So that's how they do it. The model couldn't even help but notice how Tsugawa's defense was even stronger than last year, which made him able to understand how Kagami must've been feeling up until now. But he also knew the redhead wouldn't just give in over something as small as this, not to even start on Seirin as a whole, they'd step on the gas sooner or later. That's when things turn truly interesting.

They were getting back on the field, and the way their ace was loosening up his shoulder proved to bring something good.

'He's getting fired up~'

As expected, a Kagami that got his engine running was a whole lot more promising than just a hotheaded one. He seemed to pass by Tsugawa's defense with ease, not even hesitating a single moment as he went straight for the basket and jumped. The ball was dunked in with the same energy he had made the first one have, back in their practice match. Though, luckily this time there were no rusted bolts to have him break the hoop.

"This game is finally getting started." A smile formed on the blond's lips at hearing Kasamatsu's words. It appeared that he wasn't the only one getting excited over this match, now that it was time for Seirin to make their comeback.

* * *

At the other court, things seemed to be a lot more active from the start. A score of 16 to 2, Shutoku vs. Ginbo. As said, it was a lot more of an active game between the two teams, but that didn't mean Shutoku let them score, let alone even near the basket. However, there was just a whole lot more movement on the field, which would make it more interesting to watch compared to Seirin's match. But for the blond it was already decided which game he was going to follow, after all Seirin was the kind of team to have a few tricks up their sleeve once they'd get pushed into a corner. Yet when former teammate, Midorima Shintarou, was benched after a mere five minutes of playing, Kise couldn't help but let his focus shift to their match for a few seconds.

"They're benching him after only five minutes? Those guys seem to be taking it easy." He said with a bit of a nonchalant face, as if to say Shutoku didn't seem to be putting much effort into this game. He couldn't blame them of course, but it was yet another reason why he had decided to have his eyes on the other court.

"Of course they are, their opponent is just a middle tier school. There should be no surprises." The blond could hear his superior say before his eyes turned back to look at the field on which Seirin was standing, noticing how the black haired male next to him did the same. "If there are going to be any, it'll be over here." And once again they shared the same view on this.

And their match surely didn't become any less interesting by now. Seiho had taken their passes to a whole new level, passing the ball so quickly after getting it, it barely gave Seirin any time to react. Even when they did, it wasn't easy to stop the other player. Kise felt a frown forming on his face the moment he heard a familiar set of words coming from the referee right after that loud whistle.

"Foul! White, ten!"

It was one thing to try and stop Seiho from getting any more points, but this was just reckless behavior again. Just when the blond thought the other had finally gotten into a more focused state of mind, thinking he had stomped his foot on the gas this time, and there he goes getting his third foul. Had the guy been on his team, he'd have probably given him a good smack on the head if that wasn't Kasamatsu's department. 'Really Kagamicchi, pull yourself together..' The urge to say that out loud, it was quite difficult to suppress.

"I thought Seirin's engine was finally running when Kagamicchi scored. But, they haven't managed to take another step." A slight hint of a whine in his tone as Kise leaned forward, placing his elbow on his knee and resting his head on his hand.

"You can't call yourself a king just for playing good defense. Their offense is exceptional too." Kasamatsu responded to his words, maybe a tad irritated from the tone he was using. Though the model sitting next to him couldn't care much for that now, this game was getting on his nerves. Or, more specifically, the way Kagami was playing was getting on his nerves. He let out an audible 'Hmmm..' which was obviously a sound made out of disbelief, to which his superior felt the need to explain it a little further.

"Seiho may not have prodigal scorers like you or Kagami, but they're a different type of team. They incorporate old martial arts into their offense too." Kise really wondered how something that sounded so relatively small could make such a big difference in a game, he couldn't really help but think of how he'd like to play against them someday, just to experience it for himself on the court.

"Seiho isn't a team of prodigies, they're a team of experts." And with those words the slight smirk that would often show itself playing on the blond's lips, reappeared. "There are some experts on Seirin too." And with those words he certainly didn't mean the guy who had managed to already score three fouls within the first half. No, this time his eyes were lingering on that patch of light blue, the one person anyone else would barely notice on the field. Something that became very obvious when Seiho's Tsugawa walked straight into him, as always Kuroko was nearly invisible even when you weren't in a game.

* * *

It was difficult to get the cat-like grin off of his face, especially with Kuroko leaving the audience around him confused as to who just changed the direction of that ball. But it wasn't just the audience, even Seiho looked as if they had just seen the 8th world wonder happening in front of their own eyes. "Looks like the iron wall of Seiho's defense has never seen a pass from inside their wall before." Even his voice was very obvious on how much this particular thing amused him, a playful tone as he watched the game go on. Almost, Seiho had almost scored another point. Though, the blond could feel that smile tug at the corner of his lips even more when that redhead appeared out of nowhere, tapping the ball momentarily and causing the shot to miss. His jumps surely were nothing to look down upon, even more so because he was surely not even trying right there, when facing the real deal you'd think the guy had some invisible pair of wings allowing him to just go up that high. Now all there was to do for Seirin was to keep this engine running, if they were planning to make a comeback at least. At the end of the first quarter, they had lived up to expectations, closing the gap between their scores as the board showed a perfect tie between the two teams. The second quarter, they'd most likely both start at full force to create a difference once more.

By the time the second quarter had started, the pressure was ridiculous. As predicted, Seiho had no intention of letting anyone through and Seirin had no intention of being shut down again. The first quarter was nothing compared to this, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, who knew.

Luckily, the second quarter's first score had been claimed by Seirin, as the coordination of Kuroko and Kagami got them past two guys with ease, or so it seemed. Seeing the two in action got the blond excited, knowing this would make a difference for the rest of the first half. Yet, what happened next, even if barely noticeable and only for a mere second, washed away that excitement and brought a hint of worry along instead. Kise placed a hand on his head, fingers buried in blond locks of hair as he just continued to watch, though his expression spoke volumes.

"They can make it past that defense?"

"They're more in tune with each other than they were before."

Seeing Kasamatsu's expression change from surprised to a very serious one, he knew the other had seen it as well. The way Kagami had landed, sinking through his knees right away, how exhausted he looked even though this match had not even made it halfway. It could end up pretty bad if it continued like this, and no doubt this was Seiho's intention.

As quick as Seirin had gotten the upper hand, it had faded just as quickly when their ace, tricked into something he could've easily avoided had it not been, once again, a reckless move, got his fourth foul. By now, the blond couldn't just sit there and be annoyed in silence, voicing his thoughts this time.

"That idiot! What is he doing?!"

He let himself slide down in the chair a bit, not knowing what to do to get this irritation to stop gnawing at him. Normally putting the energy into something else would work wonders, but here he was, sitting on a chair and not being able to do anything but watch the game and pray the other wouldn't fuck up again. Or maybe this would be a good moment for their coach to shove him on the bench, like a time out for a little kid. 'sit here and think about what you've done', the thought was almost amusing.

"He'll have to back down." And there was Kasamatsu Holmes solving a mystery that was, in fact, very much obvious. Thank god he had enough self-control to never speak those words in the sarcastic tone he'd hear in his head, or it might just be the end of him. Or, at least it'd result in bruises that wouldn't be countable on one hand.

"With only one foul left, he'll be too scared to make any plays." The funny thing was, that redhead probably wouldn't be scared at all if his opponent managed to piss him off enough, which had already happened and that was clear as day. It was no surprise when Kagami was switched out, however the blond couldn't help but let out a silent 'what?' when he saw them switching Kuroko out as well. Wasn't he the only one able to pass from within Seiho's 'iron wall'? What trick did Seirin have up their sleeves now? Because there was no way they were just stepping into the dark here, whatever it was, there had to be some kind of plan.

* * *

He might've just found Kasamatsu a girlfriend, or so he thought when he saw Seirin's coach rubbing her fist against Kagami's face a little extra after hitting him in the first place. The whole idea of bringing those two together caused a short snicker to come from the blond. His superior noticed it, no surprise, but decided not to ask anything about it just to spare himself another story. It wasn't the first time Kaijo's ace had thought of something ridiculous he found to be funny, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

After he pulled himself out of his own little world though, Kise was somewhat happy to see Seirin indeed having some tricks up their sleeve. The teamwork between their five players was spot on, and it surely proved to make a difference in their game. He hadn't been able to pay attention to the other players that much during their practice match, too occupied with Kagami and Kuroko and even more so when those two decided to work together. It was clear their coach knew very well what she was doing, definitely not someone he'd like to mess with (and not just because he already had someone showing him the floor every now and then)

"Whoa, they're going at it harder than I expected."

"This seems to be working a lot better." He couldn't have said it any better himself. During their practice match a lot of focus was put on Kagami and Kuroko. Without those two they'd have lost for sure, but even if it'd be like that they wouldn't have made it an easy win. Long story short, every player on Seirin had something about them that makes them a pure and utter pain in the ass.

"They formed a team around Kuroko and Kagami this spring, in other words, it's still developing. Hyuuga's outside shots and Mitobe's hook shots, the offensive team revolving around those two is the other set up Seirin spent a year creating." Yup, it was amazing just how much his older teammate knew about each and every team, as if he memorized all the issues of 'Basketball Monthly' or something. "They must have been practicing hard to win since last year's defeat." Without a doubt, the blond knew how they must've felt until this rematch. The only difference was that Seirin had lost in an actual match, and theirs was just a practice match. Still, it didn't take away the need to have a rematch with them, as childish as that might sound.

"One other thing I noticed is, this team's key player is the guy I matched up against the other day." Wait what? He could swear the key player would be their captain, even their current way of playing made it look that way. He was pretty sure Kasamatsu had been matched up against that other guy during their match, who was it… "Huh? It's not their captain?"

"Hyuuga is their mental core, he leaves making plays up to the point guard." Izuki Shun, the name had been in his mind vaguely but now he remembered it more clearly than any other. "He most likely has another eye." Now that, that was vague. The model arched one of his eyebrows as golden optics turned to look at his team's captain as if he was talking pure nonsense. "An eye?" Did he even want to know where this sudden conclusion came from? Did he even want to know what it meant? "Like he can see the game from above." Nope, still vague.

Focus back on the game, all seemed to be going well for Seirin. That was until this one guy, Koganei he recalled, overestimated his own brakes and ever so graciously, but not really, fell over the bench and right on his head. It didn't look too good either, with the guy down on the floor and not getting up, they'd have to sub him out for someone else. Kagami was a no-go with his four fouls, so that left them with four options. Though, it wasn't that hard to know who would take that position, not at all. After what seemed to be a bit of bickering between red and blue, hotheaded and straightforward rarely proved a good combo in conversation, it brought another smile to his face when his old teammate stepped back onto the court. He was certainly looking forward to seeing Seiho flabbergasted again when those passes would go around, especially Tsugawa. It wasn't that he had a grudge against the guy, but it sure was fun to see.

Tsugawa changed his mark to Kuroko? Now that was going to become a choice with many regrets, Kuroko would slip past him in no time, which was exactly what happened. Within the blink of an eye he was gone, already passing the ball somewhere else on the court and allowing their captain to score another two pointer. From that point on Seirin was going on full power, which was a whole lot different from any previous quarter they had played in this match.

By now it was Seiho slowly being shut down, according to Kasamatsu it was because Seirin had figured out their movements, the way their players would give away which direction they'd go to. "As their name suggests, old martial arts techniques are ancient. Their though process is completely different from modern sports science. Applying those specialized movements to basketball is Seiho's strength, but it also brings along habits." That was pretty amazing. To study a team so much you can shut them down by their own, little habits, it sounded like something he would do as it required a lot of observation. And boy let it just be coincidence that was his strength.

The last 30 seconds came rolling in, and just then, Seirin took the lead. 70 to 69, with about 25 seconds left to go. They made their comeback, but now they'd have to keep that lead, and even if there was little time left it'd prove to be something difficult. After all, Seiho wasn't called a 'King' for nothing. Almost immediately, Seiho went for the offense, dunking the ball straight in even when there were two blockers. They weren't going to back down easily, which became even more clear when they initiated an all court man-to-man defense. "They're not just trying to defend, they're trying to score another shot!" Every basketball team was stubborn until the end, especially with a score difference as small as this. However, this really was above a thing like 'stubborn'.

Seirin had to score another two pointer at least, they had to. There was no way Seiho was going to ruin his chance on a rematch, not to forget they had to show Midorima a thing or two, they couldn't just lose this match!

A pass to Kuroko, this was their chance. However all of a sudden, Tsugawa appeared in his line of sight, and Kise was sure he wasn't the only one surprised at that.

"Tsugawa? How?!" This guy, no matter how long it had been since he played against him, he was still an tough opponent and maybe Kise had even underestimated him a little just now. "He found him by calculating backwards from the pass course!" Once again, Kasamatsu proved to be a genius at this. But it didn't matter how he found him, it mattered that he did.

Kuroko missed, and for a moment it seemed as if the outcome was settled. But, as expected from a member of the Generation of Miracles (more or less), the blue haired male had another trick or two in his arsenal. With his other arm, changing the target for his pass, he sent the ball right at Hyuuga who had freed himself from Seiho's defense. A three pointer went straight through the net, and with a final score of 73 to 71, Seirin had claimed victory over their (re)match against Seiho. Everyone gathered around, Kuroko in the middle, even Koganei who had been pretty much floored for the past five minutes was now jumping around as if nothing had happened. The only one he was missing in this picture, was Kagami, who had apparently maintained his spot on the bench (okay and their coach, but Kagami not being there stood out more, just the truth).

Before the line-up, it looked like Tsugawa had felt the need to 'throw a bitch-fit' so to speak, but it didn't appear to be anything serious. Some people got angry over losing after all, and others got sad or just upset (Kise himself included). By now he finally felt the need to look over at the Shutoku game for once, a quiet huff and a small curve at the corner of his lips. 113 to 38, as he'd expect from another 'King' They were truly merciless, and somehow that fit in with Midorima pretty well.

* * *

** End Chapter 4 **


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